Calcium is a mineral that is important for building bones and teeth. One of the problems with supplementation of the diet with calcium is that all sources of calcium are not equally soluble or bioavailable. In addition, some calcium sources are not as pure as other sources. For example, calcium carbonate derived from bone meal, oyster shell, or other biological origins contains trace amounts of lead and other minerals. Some calcium carbonates also contain silica. Therefore, it is necessary to take additional amounts of these materials to achieve the same calcium level as those taken from synthetic sources which are essentially pure calcium carbonate.
Calcium citrate is poorly soluble in water; calcium malate is more soluble. Calcium hydroxide is somewhere in between these salts. The hydroxide absorbs carbon dioxide from the air readily forming calcium carbonate. Calcium salts readily hydrate even when stored in dry cool places. Therefore, the amount of calcium being delivered by any pill or preparation may be even less than expected because of the large amount of water absorbed by the salts.
Calcium salts are more soluble in acid matrices than in neutral solutions. However, even under acid conditions, the solubility of many calcium salts is limited. It has been found that the preferred calcium citrate malate used herein is readily soluble and bioavailable, even under neutral conditions. Also, because of this solubility and because of the microcrystalline form of the calcium citrate malate used herein, it does not produce a gritty taste in sauces.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,010 to Chozianin et al, issued May 4, 1976. discloses emulsified oil dressing products such as mayonnaise, salad dressing, and french dressing where the fat component is based on a standard triglyceride fat or oil. Salad dressings are defined as emulsified foods prepared from an edible vegetable oil, and acidifying ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice or lime juice, and egg yolk containing ingredients in a cooked or partially cooked starch paste prepared from food starch, tapioca flour, wheat flour, rye flour, or combinations of these starchy materials and water.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,808 to Jonson, issued Feb. 20, 1979, discloses low calorie mayonnaise and dressing-type products which comprise oil, egg yolk vinegar, mustard and spices. This patent teaches that industrially manufactured products of this type also contain acetic acid, sugar, salt, thickener, preservatives, and dyes. Among the suitable thickeners listed are starch and chemically modified starches.
The present invention relates to emulsified oil dressing products, in particular salad dressing products, which are calcium fortified, yet have the desired consistency and texture of mayonnaise products. It also relates to the vinegar preparations used to make these products.
In addition to its use in bone building, calcium has also been known to form insoluble salts or soaps with long chain fatty acids. When fat is metabolized fatty acids are formed in the gut. Recently it has been discovered that if there are calcium ions available, then these saturated long chain fatty acids can form insoluble calcium soaps and thus not be absorbed. Therefore, a sauce or other emulsified oil dressing which contains high levels of available, soluble calcium which could be used in conjunction with beef and other saturated fat containing foods, would be useful because the amount of fat absorbed from the food would be decreased.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a readily available calcium source which can be used as a nutritional supplement for building bones, strong teeth, and in general supplementing the daily requirement of calcium in the form of a sauce or emulsified dressing or a vinegar.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method of decreasing the fat absorbed from meats, and other fat containing foods by serving a calcium fortified sauce with the food product.
These and other objects will become apparent from the descriptions herein.